Drawer construction



May 12, 1959 E, c, ULM 2,885,694

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 12, 1959Filed Aug. 30, 1954 CIIILZZZ'LIJ E. C. ULM

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

%m6 myfw May 12, 1959 E. c. ULM

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 30, 1954 JNVENTOR.

United States Patent C DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Eugene C. Ulm, Batavia, Ohio,assignor to Cincinnati Metalcrafts, Inc., CincinnatLOhio, a-corporationof Ohio Application August 30, 1954, Serial No. 452,794

1 Claim. (Cl. 5-308) This invention relates. to drawers and isparticularlydirected to a drawer adapted to be slidably mounted'beneatha bed.

In many institutions such as hospitals there-is a marked shortage ofspace for storage of such articles as blankets, heating pads and othertherapeutic equipment, clothes, and personal belongings of patients. Ithas previously been proposed to provide such additional storage space bymounting a drawer beneath each bed. Such a drawer is securedv to the bedframe and is supported above the floor so that it occupies otherwisewasted space and yet does not interfere with anyone cleaning orpolishing the floor.

One of the principal objects of the presentinvention is to. provide adrawer, adapted to be mounted beneath abed, and constructed so that itcan be opened from either side of the bed. The provision of such adrawer is ex-' tremely advantageous since a nurse, patient, or otherperson needing an article stored in the drawer. can reach the articlefrom either side of the bed, thereby saving considerable walking fromone side of the bed to they other.

The present drawers are particularly advantageous when used with bedslocated in wards, dormitories or the like where the beds are frequentlyshifted from one wall to the other. The use of the present drawers,which can be opened from either side, eliminates the necessity ofchanging or adjusting the drawer each time a bed is moved against adifferent wall.

One of the principal advantages. of the present drawer construction isthat the drawer is extremely simple to operate. To open the drawer fromeither side of the bed, the user merely depresses a button to release alatchand pulls outwardly on a handle provided on.the drawer panel. Thedrawer, which is mounted on ball bearings, slides outwardly until itsentire interior is accessible and then is automatically stopped. Whenthe drawer is closed, it again slides easily on its bearings until itreaches its original position where it is automatically stopped and heldagainst further movement in either direction. The drawer is operated inexactly the same manner from either side of the bed; no additionalmanipulations of any kind are required, when the drawer is to be openedfrom one side rather than the other.

In the preferred embodiment the drawer unit comprises a cover memberwhich is secured in place beneath the bed frame by means of a pluralityof brackets which are fastened to the longitudinal bed rails. The covermember carries two spaced outer guide rails including longitudinallyextending grooves adapted to receive a. plurality of ball bearings whichin turn support a pair of inner tracks carried by the side walls of thedrawer. As explained in detail below, stop means are provided forlimiting the distance which the drawer can be withdrawn in eitherdirection. The. stop means do not, however, interfere in any way withthe movement of the drawer in the opposite direction. Thus, the trackingarrangement functions both to. provide. smooth movement of the drawer 2=and also to limit the extent'to which the drawer can be opened fromeither side of the bed.

The drawer is secured in its. closed'position by means of a duallatching arrangement, including spring urged retractable .bolt typelatches secured to the front and rear panels of the drawer. Each latchis disposed for engage ment with, a striker plate mounted'on the undersurface of the cover member intermediate, the latch bolt' andassociated' drawer panel when thedrawer is in the closed position. Thespecific details of the latch mechanism constitute no, part of thepresent invention. It is requisite however that the latch bolt be springurged toward its.

extended position in which it engagesthe strikes plate. The inwardlydisposed face of each of the latch bolts is angulatedj so that when thedrawer is closed, and the striker plateengages this face it is.effective .to cam the bolt downwardly sothat itpasses beneath the plate.The forward, or outer, face of. the latch bolt is preferablysubstantially vertical so that the. striker plate does not cam, thelatch bolt downwardly when the drawer is pulled outwardly, but ratherthe striker plate. functions as an abutment member to prevent movementof the. drawer in that direction. However, outward T movement of thedrawer can be effected. by pressing, a, button which ismechanicallyinterconnected to the bolt in such a manner that the latch bolt isretracted whenever the button is depressed.

In the present drawer unit construction, the latches perform a doublefunction. in that they not only prevent accidental opening of thedrawer, but also function to automatically stop. the drawer when. itisreturned to its closed position. Thus, if the drawer is opened fromone side of the bed, the latch bolt on the same Side of the bed isretracted by. depressing its. button sov that the bolt slides under theadjacent striker plate. When. the drawer is closed the same bolt' iscammed downwardly by the plate to permit the drawer to close completely.However, when the drawer reaches its. closedposition, the opposite latchbolt strikes. its associated. striker plate. and prevents furthermovement of the drawer toward the opposite side of the. bed.. By thattime the first latch bolt has completely passed. under its plate and hassprung upwardly so that the drawer can no longer be, moved in eitherdirection without. manipulating one of. they latch buttons provided.

In addition to the advantages mentionedabove, the present constructionis also desirable sincethe drawer unit can, be economically manufacturedand, assembled. Except for the latches. and. ball bearings, thecomponent parts are sheet metal stampingswhich are readily formed and.easily fabricated.

Afurther advantage of the. present invention resides in the provision ofmeans. for applying a. padlock to the drawer to prevent itsunauthorized, opening when the drawer is used with beds placed inarmybarracks, dormitories and the like.

Another advantage of the present inventionis that the adjustablemounting bracket construction facilitates the mounting of the drawer inany desiredfiposition under the bed. That is, the drawer can be centeredbeneath the bed. or can be located adjacent to one side or the other.Moreover, as will be explainedfmore fully below, ,the mounting bracketconstruction facilitates the installation of the drawer so that it canbe mounted beneath a bed by a single individual without. the use ofanytools.

These and other" advantages of the present construction will be morereadily apparent from a further. consideration of the following detaileddescription of the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is=a= partial perspectiveview of a' bed having a bed drawer ofthe present invention mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a bed drawer showing detailsof the adjustable mounting brackets.

Figure 3 is a side view of the bed drawer shown in Figure l. i

Fig. 4 is a top view of the bed drawer, a portion of the cover memberbeing broken away to show details of the latching mechanism.

Figure 5 is a partial end view of a drawer showing the guide track andball bearings.

Figure 6 is a partial end view similar to Figure 5 showing the guidetrack on the opposite side of the drawer.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the drawer.

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a side view of a modified mounting bracket.

As shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2, a drawer unit 10 constructedin accordance with the present invention is particularly adapted to bemounted beneath a hospital, a

barracks, dormitory or institutional bed 11 including a pair oflongitudinally extending frame members 12. While the drawer constructionis particularly adapted for use with beds of this type, it will beunderstood that the drawer can also be used with other types of beds toprovide extra storage space in homes and apartments and can also bemounted beneath work tables and the like to provide storage space fortools and other articles.

The drawer unit 10 comprises a cover member 13 including a horizontallyextending panel 14 and downwardly extending end flanges 15 and 16. Thecover member is secured to the bed by means of four adjustable brackets17. Since the brackets are preferably of identical construction, onlyone will be described. Each bracket 17 is substantially L-shaped,including a foot 18 disposed within one of the channels 19 welded orotherwise secured to panel 14 of the cover member. Foot 18 is providedwith a suitable opening 20 for receiving a bolt 21 which also passesthrough an elongated slot 22 in channel member 19. A wing nut 23 isthreaded over the bolt to fasten the foot and channel together, therebyholding bracket 17 in any desired position relative to the cover. Byadjusting these brackets inwardly or outwardly along channels 19 thedrawer unit can readily be mounted upon beds of different widths. Alsoas explained in detail below, by adjusting the brackets the drawer canbe selectively positioned in the center of the bed or adjacent to one ofits sides. The upstanding arm 24 of each bracket is configurated to forman elongated slot 25 adapted to receive a bolt 26 passing through theslot and an opening in a clip member 27 carried by the arm. Clip member27 includes an offset portion adapted for engagement with the downwardlyextending arm 28 of the bed frame member 12 when the clip is locked inplace by means of nut 29. The upper end of arm 24 of the angle bracketis overturned to provide a lip 30 for engaging the upper surface of bedframe 12.

A drawer 31 is slidably mounted beneath cover member 13 by means of twoguide track assemblies 32-32. The drawer is of generally rectangularcross section and includes a bottom 33, side walls 34 and 35 and frontand rear panels 36 and 37. Panels 36 and 37 are each provided with ahandle 38 which is secured to the panel in any suitable manner such asby means of bolts 40. The front and rear panels also carry latchingelements 41.

The exact construction of latching elements 41 constitutes no part ofthe present invention; consequently, the inner mechanism of thesedevices is not illustrated. However, the latches have been shown insuflicient detail to indicate the manner in which they operate. Asshown, each latching element 41 comprises a housing 42 which is weldedor otherwise secured to the front or rear panel of the drawer. Housing42 supports a boltlike element 43 which is pivotally mounted to theupper end of the housing as at 44. The bolt, which includes asubstantially vertical outer face 45 and a bevelled inner face 46, isspring urged upwardly to its extended position shown in Figure 7.However, the bolt is adapted to pivot downwardly about pin 44 to aretracted position when the bevelled edge 46 engages an abutment membersuch as the striker plate, or when button 47 is depressed. This buttonis mechanically interconnected with the bolt and is reciprocallysupported by the latch housing 42 so as to normally protrude through anopening in the drawer panel.

As shown particularly in Figure 7, two striker plates, 48 and 50, aremounted beneath the cover member in the path of movement of latches 41,each striker plate being disposed outwardly of the bolt of itsassociated latch when the drawer is in the closed position. The strikerplates may be of any desired configuration, but in the preferredembodiment are formed from angle members including a depending arm 51and a foot 52 secured to the cover member by any suitable means such asby bolts 53. If desired, either the bolt holes in the striker plate orcover member can be slotted to provide a ready means for shifting thestriker plate to vary the backlash of the drawer when closed.

The means for slidably securing the drawer to the cover member are bestshown in Figures 2, 5 and 6. As there shown, each of the depending endflanges of the cover member carries an inwardly facing generally U-shaped track 55 which is welded, riveted or otherwise secured to thecover member. The ends of each arm of the track are given a rounded,concave configuration to define a groove for receiving ball bearings 56.A second pair of cooperating tracks 57 are mounted on the two side wallsof the drawer. Tracks 57 extend substantially. the length of the drawer,the ends of the tracks being spaced slightly inwardly of panels 36 and37 as shown in Figure 2. Each track is of generally U-shapedconfiguration including two longitudinally extending arcuate arms 58adapted to be disposed between the arms of the outer brackets, which arepreferably of substantially the same length as tracks 57, in such amanner that a plurality of ball bearings can be mounted within thecooperating arcuate portions of the two tracks as shown in Figure 5.

The bearings disposed between the tracks are spaced from one another bya channel shaped spacer 60, the arms 61 of which are provided with aplurality of openings for receiving the ball bearings. The spacer memberis substantially shorter, for example one third the length of guidetracks, and is not secured to any other element so that it is free totravel for a limited distance back and forth along the guide tracks. Thespacer member is confined by stop members, such as bolts 63, which arethreaded into side flanges 15 and 16 of the cover member adjacent to theends thereof. The stops extend inwardly from the flanges a suflicientdistance to engage the ends of the spacer member but do not engage theinner guide rails secured to the drawer. As will be explained later,spacer members 60 and stops 63 cooperate with abutment members 62secured to the ends of the inner guide rails to limit the amount whichthe drawer can be withdrawn from beneath the cover member. In theembodiment shown, abutment members 62 are formed by rivets which passthrough bolt arms of the inner guide rails and are upset at either endto form enlarged por' tions 70.

In the preferred embodiment, means are provided for locking the drawerin its closed position so that clothes and other valuables can be safelystored in wards, barracks and the like. As shown, the locking meanscomprise an opening 71 formed at one end of the flange and asubstantially Z-shaped bracket 72 welded or otherwise secured to theedge of the drawer and including an arm 73 spaced outwardly from theside of the drawer. Arm 73 is configurated to form an opening 74 whichis disposed relative to opening 75 in flange 16 so that the two openingsare in registry when the drawer is in the closed position and areadapted to receive any suitable lock such as a combination padlock.

When mounting a drawer unit of the present invention upon a bed framethe first step is to adjust the position of one set of brackets 17relative to cover member 14 so that the bed drawer unit will be disposedin the desired position with respect to the sides of the bed. After thebrackets are correctly positioned, they are secured in place bytightening wing nuts 23 to firmly secure the brackets to channel members19. The lips 30 of these brackets are then placed over one side bedframe member 12. Next, clip members 27 are brought into engagement withthe frame member and wing nuts 29 are tightened down so that the bedframe is firmly clamped between the clips and vertical arms 24 of thebrackets. The opposite brackets are then slidably positioned alongchannels 19 until the brackets engage the opposite bed frame member 12.The second set of brackets is then clamped in place by tightening wingnuts 23 and the clips 27 carried by these brackets are brought intoengagement with the bed frame member as explained above.

To open the drawer from either side of the bed, the user grasps handle38 on the drawer panel facing him and depresses button 47 disposed abovethe handle. This causes bolt 43 to pivot downwardly allowing it to passbeneath its associated striker plate 50. The drawer is then pulledoutwardly and slides very smoothly on ball bearings 56. By the time thedrawer has been opened a sufiicient distance so that its entire interioris readily accessible, the spacer channels 60 have been moved forward bythe frictional force of the ball hearings to a point where they engageforward stop members 63. Also, the inner rails attached to the drawerhave moved forward a sufiicient distance so that the abutment members 62dis posed at the rear end of the channel are brought into engagementwith the last ball bearings carried by the spacer members. The abutmentmembers cannot pass beneath the balls, which are constrained between theinner and outer rails, and the guide strip cannot be shifted furtheroutwardly, consequently, the drawer is firmly held against furtheroutward movement.

When the drawer is closed, it slides inwardly along the ball bearingsuntil it reaches its normally closed position beneath the cover member.As the drawer approaches this position the bevelled face 46 of the boltmember is engaged by adjacent striker plate '50, whereupon the bolt ispivoted downwardly and passes beneath the striker plate. As soon as thebolt passes free of the striker plate it is spring urged upwardly to itsprojecting position shown in Figure 7. As the bolt springs upwardly thevertical face 45 of the bolt carried by the opposite latch memberengages the striker plate at the opposite end of the cover and preventsthe drawer from being pushed further toward the other side of the bed.The drawer is thus antomatically stopped and held in its closedposition, since both latch mechanisms are again rendered effective toprevent movement of the drawer in either direction until one of thebuttons is depressed. The drawer is operated from the opposite side ofthe bed in exactly the same manner as that just described except thatthe opposite handle is grasped and the opposite latch button isdepressed.

It will readily be appreciated that the cover member is firmly heldagainst canting or twisting during the manipulation of the drawer by theengagement of the four mounting brackets with channels 19. Moreover,these channels also function to distribute the load over a greater areaof the mounting bracket feet and in addition serve to rigidify the covermember. Thus the drawer unit is particularly well adapted to withstandrough usage of the type encountered in army barracks and institutes.

If it is desired to lock the drawer in the closed position, a padlock ofany suitable configuration is inserted through opening in one of thedepending flanges of the cover member and through opening 74 in theZ-shaped bracket 72 carried by the drawer.

From the foregoing description of the principles of the presentinvention and the above disclosure of a preferred embodiment, thoseskilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications towhich the invention is susceptible. For example, as shown in Figure 9 amodified form of vertically adjustable mounting bracket can be employedfor securing the cover member to a bed frame. The modified form of themounting bracket comprises a foot member 76 which fits within channel 19and is held in place by a wing nut as in the preferred embodiment. Theupstanding portion 7'7 of the foot member includes a plurality ofvertically spaced apertures 78 adapted to receive a bolt 79 carried by alower aperture in spacer member 80. The spacer member also is providedwith a pair of upper openings 81 which receive bolts 82 engaging slot 83in vertical member 84, which includes a turned over lip 85, as in thepreferred embodiment. A clip member 86 is carried by an uppermost bolt87 also passing through slot 83 and is disposed for engagement with thedepending portion of the side bed frame member 12 as explained above.

Having described my invention I claim:

A drawer unit which may be opened from either end thereof, comprising acover member, means for attaching said cover member to the underside ofa bed frame, a guide track carried at each side of said cover member,each of said guide tracks being of a generally U-shaped configuration,and including arcuate ball receiving grooves, a drawer including abottom, front and rear panels and side walls, a guide rail secured toeach side wall of said drawer, each of said guide rails including anarcuate ball receiving groove and being disposed to reside Within theguide tracks, a plurality of ball bearings interposed between said guidetracks and rails, a freely mounted spacer member embracing each of saidrails and including openings for receiving said ball bearings, stopmembers carried by said cover member adjacent the ends thereof anddisposed for abutment with said spacer members to limit the outwardmovement thereof in both directions, abutment members carried by saidrails adjacent to each end thereof and adapted for engagement withcorresponding inward ends of said spacer members to limit the outwardmovement of said rails relative to said spacer members, and latchingmeans associated with each end of said drawer for selectively preventingoutward movement of said drawer, whereby the motion of said drawer ineither direction along said tracks is limited so that said drawer cannotbe withdrawn beyond a fully extended position.

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